Bated vs. Baited

Bated: |ˈbātid| (adjective) – in great suspense; in anticipation; used in the phrase bated breath. “He waited with bated breath for the call to come.”

Baited: |ˈbātid| (verb) – deliberately annoyed or taunted (someone); also: prepared a hook or line with bait to catch fish.“They mercilessly baited the little boy about his horn-rimmed glasses.”
“They baited the line with the best lure in the tackle box.”

Baited is often incorrectly used in place of bated in the phrase “bated breath.”

Correct: She waited with bated breath for the results of her final exams. Incorrect:She waited with baited breath for the results of her final exams.

In Closing

Bated = in anticipation, as in bated breath.Baited = taunted OR attach bait on a line

Peggy On Wednesday, September 28 at 12:06 pm

Laura On Monday, September 26 at 9:15 am

Wow, that is the first schoolmarm moment that I didn’t know! All the others I have been like, “whew, good thing I’m not the only one who gets annoyed about that.” this one is all new to me, although I admit sometimes I haven’t typed the phrase “bated breath” because I didn’t know if I was spelling it right. Thanks ree!

How about doing this with bare and bear…and always a refresher on your and you’re is in order!

8

Fran On Monday, September 26 at 9:33 am

If a cat was trying to lure a bird into her mouth, she might BAIT her breath by eating — oh I don’t know — maybe WORMS?? Or if she was trying to catch a mouse, she might BAIT her breath with cheese… would that work?

Caroline S. On Monday, September 26 at 10:51 am

I suspect what you’re hearing out loud is, “I’m wary of doing this because I might get hurt.” which is correct as wary = “marked by keen caution, cunning, and watchfulness especially in detecting and escaping danger”. (Merriam-Webster online)

Some people pronounce them the same out loud, though ’round my house weary rhymes with cheery and wary rhymes with Mary. That may be a Canuck thing.

Now if you’re reading “weary” (i.e. tired) in the sentence you give as an example, yes, that’s a mistake.

Margaret On Wednesday, September 28 at 12:10 pm

Shawnie, pronunciation such as you offer is not just a Canuck thing! For instance, if you are a Californian, you probably would pronounce Mary, merry, and marry all exactly the same. If you are from the mid-Atlantic states as I am (Pennsylvania) all those words are pronounced totally different.

Janet On Monday, September 26 at 10:36 am

Melissa in Florida On Monday, September 26 at 12:13 pm

Katherine On Monday, September 26 at 10:39 am

SO AGREE! This is one of my pet peeves!!

13

mswick On Monday, September 26 at 10:41 am

Could you address the use of bring vs. take?

14

Pam On Monday, September 26 at 11:15 am

Good grief, I didn’t even know bated was a word. I have made this mistake since the get-go. I did wonder, though, what “baited breath” was; I though it might be the breath of someone what had just eaten a piece of dark chocolate – that would certainly catch me.

I’ve always thought “bated” was from “abated”, as in one has stopped breathing / is holding their breath in anticipation.

geekgirl On Wednesday, September 28 at 9:52 am

It is, you’re right. It’s not “in anticipation” it’s being held back or restrained.

16

Kati Kennedy On Monday, September 26 at 11:24 am

Here’s a real test… can you use “bated” in a sentence that does not include the phrase “bated breath?”

geekgirl On Wednesday, September 28 at 9:49 am

“We waited with bated excitement for the postal truck to bring the new books.” “Jane bated her expectations for a great sentence when she realized the word just wasn’t used much any more.”

17

Amber On Monday, September 26 at 11:24 am

I <3 Mean Ol' Schoolmarm! This is a good one, although admittedly I've never used the phrase "with bated breath" in speech or in written communication *hangs head in shame*… I have noticed a lot of people using PEAK instead of PIQUE and it drives me crazy!

18

Vicki (piggledy) On Monday, September 26 at 11:40 am

Yes! Thank you!!

19

Sue On Monday, September 26 at 11:47 am

Welcome back Mean Ol’ Schoolmarm. I’ve missed you.
This was a good one.

20

LynneW On Monday, September 26 at 11:48 am

I LOVE these! Have you done Pored and Poured yet? I see these misquoted even in the print media all the time.

Well, thank gawd I don’t really ever use those words in my vocabulary.

22

Carolyn in MS On Monday, September 26 at 11:58 am

Though I live in Mississippi now, I haven’t always, and I often hear people say, “I’ve had a bate(?) of that” when they want to indicate that they’ve had enough of something. I never heard it until I moved here. What’s that all about? Anyone?

23

Diane Z. On Monday, September 26 at 12:30 pm

Ohhhhh…

THANK YOU, Thank You, thank you for taking this one on! It has driven me absolutely nuts over the years to find this mistake perpetuated in so many different forms of writing. Want to re-visit the misuse of apostrophes, especially in “its” vs. “it’s”?

Niteowl Nancy On Monday, September 26 at 3:00 pm

Have you considered writing a post about the superfluous use of apostrophes? Please, please, PLEASE! Rampant, erroneous apostrophe use is on the rise!

Meriwether On Wednesday, September 28 at 12:14 pm

And why are apostrophes put in the middle of names nowadays? Is the name a contraction of a longer, more formal name? Or are they put in because someone thinks they look pretty? Will the company that produces the SAT make special accommodation for middle-of-the-name apostrophes on the answer sheet? Beats me!

Thank you SO very much -seeing “baited breath” makes me wonder if everyone really is eating sushi? I’m thinking bated has to do with the word abate – however it shakes out – thank you so much – I’m waiting with bated breath for your next mean old schoolmarm moment

29

Sandra Rice On Monday, September 26 at 3:17 pm

Geeze, I learn something new every day (and my mom was an english teacher)

30

Cathy R On Monday, September 26 at 4:05 pm

Wow! I sort of consider myself and English nerd ( read: one who loves sentence diagraming) Somehow I never knew that there even WERE two different words for that!

31

PatW On Monday, September 26 at 5:05 pm

Thank you! This is one that regularly drives me up the wall.

And could the Mean Ol’ Schoolmarm tackle the biggest one of all: the REGULAR misuse of ‘s for a plural s. That is so prevalent these days that pretty soon it’s going to become correct grammar!

32

Gigs On Monday, September 26 at 5:43 pm

This is one of my favorites. When someone writes “baited breath” it always makes me giggle, thinking of people with fishy smelling breath…

Farm Boy observed this Ozark Farm Chick’s patience while she drove the semi outta the muddy silage pit as he pulled her with the tractor. Now she’s gonna bait a trip for him. It’s called payback! Heeehehehehe!!!!

What fun! :O)

God bless ya’ll from the beautiful hills and hollers of the colorful Missouri Ponderosa!!! :o)

37

KathleeninKy On Tuesday, September 27 at 9:01 am

As a former schoolmarm, I always liked the challenge to make memory clues for students. Think of “baited” as having a little “i” fishhook in there–it’s dangling there to bait you to bite it. “Bate” is the end of the word “abate”, which is to end–if your breath is bated, it is held back.

38

Rosalie In Kansas On Tuesday, September 27 at 12:14 pm

Thanks… at least someone knows how to use our language correctly. It is appalling what has happened to our youth. They can’t seem to spell correctly let alone use the words correctly. Could you teach ALL our youth —- PLEASE !!!

Find the Pioneer Woman on:

Charlie has a brand new children's book out, and it's all about the day a new calf comes into the world! She sleeps in Charlie's bed, hogs all the attention...and hilarity ensues. Hope you and your kiddos enjoy the book!